Competition in one of the 2014 Winter Olympics' most anticipated sports -- figure skating -- is set to be fierce.

Starting with the inaugural team event and continuing through to figure skating's finale, the women's competition wrapping on Feb. 20, the Sochi games will feature an array of talented athletes from throughout the world executing incredibly difficult technical elements while also interpreting their musical selections and wearing spectacularly bedazzled costumes. As always, they'll do all of this while balancing on quarter-inch blades.

Below is a roundup of some of the names to keep a close eye out for in the 2014 Olympic figure skating competition, ranging from gold medal contenders to fan-favorite underdogs.

Other notable medal hopefuls include Americans Gracie Gold and Ashley Wagner, Japan's Akiko Suzuki, a major fan favorite who won the Japanese Nationals over Asada in December, and Italy's Carolina Kostner, who placed second to Kim at last year's World Championships.

Though she isn't expected to vie for a medal, Norway's Anne Line Gjersem is another skater to watch in Sochi. She is her nation's first Olympic figure skater in five decades.

In ice dancing, starting Feb. 16, Detroit training mates and rivals Meryl Davis and Charlie White (of the U.S.) and Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir (of Canada) are projected to go 1-2 in Sochi, just as they did at the last Olympics when Virtue and Moir defeated the Americans. Davis and White have the momentum after beating Virtue and Moir at the Grand Prix Final in December and could become the first American ice dancing team to ever win Olympic gold in what could be the final showdown between two of the top ice dancing duos ever.

With the North American teams expected to take gold and silver, the race for the bronze figures to provide plenty of a drama. Two Russian teams just might get a home-field boost, though veterans Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat of France are the sentimental favorites with their charming "Le Petit Prince" free dance. Another spoiler for a medal could be the Italians, Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte, who are coming off their first-ever win at the European Championships.

In the men's singles event, which kicks off with the short program on Feb. 13, Canadian Patrick Chan is the three-time and reigning World champion and the favorite for gold. Chan has earned a reputation as a skater who is not only of the highest technical caliber, but also who pushes the sport to new artistic heights, earning him high component (i.e. artistic) scores even when he falters on the jumps.

Other medal contenders include a trio of Japanese men -- Yuzuru Hanyu, Tatsuki Machida and Daisuke Takahashi -- and Spain's Javier Fernandez. Hanyu, Takahashi and Fernandez are the only three men in the world who have beaten Chan over the past two seasons, though both Takahashi and Fernandez have both been inconsistent so far this season.

And then there is the Russian wild card, Evgeny Plushenko, who has returned from retirement in a long shot to finally win an Olympic gold after narrowly losing to Evan Lysacek four years ago. Plushenko looked rusty at the European Championships and withdrew, but he should not be counted out. Americans Jeremy Abbott and fan favorite Jason Brown, whose incredible "Riverdance" from the U.S. Championships went viral last month, both have an outside shot at a medal but would likely need flawless performances of their own as well as see mistakes from their competitors.

In the pairs competition, which starts Feb. 11, Russians Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov are the favorites for gold, but veteran German pair Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy, bronze medalists at the 2010 Olympics, will present a formidable challenge for the talented Russians. Both pairs are known for blending stylish presentation skills with top-of-the-line technique, so this should be a thrilling showdown.

Russian skater Julia Lipnitsukaia performs during the women's short program of the ISU figure skating Grand Prix Final in Fukuoka, western Japan, on December 5, 2013. (TORU YAMANAKA/AFP/Getty Images)

Mao Asada of Japan performs in the ladies' short program during All Japan Figure Skating Championships at Saitama Super Arena on December 22, 2013 in Saitama, Japan. (Photo by Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images)

Japanese figure skater Akiko Suzuki performs during the women's single skating of Japan's national championships in Saitama, suburban Tokyo on December 23, 2013. (JIJI PRESS/AFP/Getty Images)

Russia's Adelina Sotnikova performs on ice of 'SYMA' sports hall in Budapest on January 17, 2014 during the free skating programme for women category of the ISU European Figure Skating Championships. (ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP/Getty Images)

Italy's Carolina Kostner performs during the women's short program at the European Figure Skating Championships in Budapest, Hungary, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Polina Edmunds competes in the free skate program during the 2014 Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships at TD Garden on January 11, 2014 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Canada perform in the Ice Dance free program at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in London, Ontario on Saturday, March 16, 2013. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Paul Chiasson)

Evgeni Plushenko, of Russia, skates his short program at the ISU European figure skating championship in Zagreb, Croatia, on Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)

This picture taken on December 22, 2013 shows Japanese figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu performing during the men's single figure skating at Japan's national championships in Saitama, suburban Tokyo. (JIJI PRESS/AFP/Getty Images)

Spain's Javier Fernandez performs on ice at the 'SYMA' sports hall in Budapest, Hungary on January 18, 2014 during the men's free skating program of the ISU European Figure Skating Championships. (ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP/Getty Images)

Daisuke Takahashi of Japan performs in the men's free skating during All Japan Figure Skating Championships at Saitama Super Arena on December 22, 2013 in Saitama, Japan. (Photo by Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images)

Qing Pang and Jian Tong of China compete in the pairs free skating during day three of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final 2013/2014 at Marine Messe Fukuoka on December 7, 2013 in Fukuoka, Japan. (Photo by Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images)

Kirsten Moore-Towers and Dylan Moscovitch perform their free program in pairs competition at the Canadian Skating Championships Saturday Jan. 11, 2014 in Ottawa, Ontario. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Adrian Wyld)